


Once Upon A Dream

by dorkpatroller



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, Star AU, niles wishes for love, odin Is the god of the stars, this fits into the evening star universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:31:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkpatroller/pseuds/dorkpatroller
Summary: Niles made a wish on a star to dream of true love, but why shouldn’t he find love in real life?





	Once Upon A Dream

_ I know you, I danced with you once upon a night. _

_ There we were, wishing this dance would last forever, all time. _

_ I hope it’s true, this vision is more than what it seems. _

_ ‘Cause if dreams come true, I know what we’ll do: _

_ We’ll dance once again, the way we did then, upon a dream. _

 

“Niles.” 

 

Leo’s voice jolts Niles out of what he assumes must have been sleep. He blinks his eye and when he can refocus his vision he finds Leo approaching him with his hands folded gently behind his back. “It’s not like you to doze off on the job.” 

 

It isn’t like they’re doing anything dangerous or important. Leo is just reading and Niles  _ was _ standing by a bookcase in Leo’s library and using a dry cloth to dust off some of the books. He clears his throat and looks down at the floor where the dust rag is settled by his feet. 

 

“It’s especially unlike you to doze off  _ on your feet.”  _

 

"It's nothing," Niles says. He scoops up the rag and when he stands back up he startles backward because Leo is  _ very _ close to his face. Then he rolls his eye and laughs. “Milord, it’s only just some trouble sleeping.” 

 

“When Forrest was an infant, I had trouble sleeping, Niles, yet you didn’t see me falling asleep in a standing position. Now that you mention it, you look completely exhausted. Are you ill?” 

 

He’s not. He found he couldn’t sleep last night, but it was his own fault. He’s grown familiar with having a very specific sort of dream. When he found he couldn’t dream last night, he chose not to sleep at all. He was pouting. 

 

There’s more to it than that. “Not at all.” 

 

Leo waits in silence a few seconds longer before he rolls his eyes. “Well, Niles, are we going to play a game of cat and mouse or are you going to tell me why it is you weren’t able to sleep?” 

 

Actually, Leo may be able to explain the dreams. They’re beyond extraordinary--there’s something entirely otherworldly about them. When he wakes up he feels like he’s truly lived through the experience of it, and… well, that brings its own trials. He pulls out a chair and sits at a small table, and Leo wanders over and leans his legs against the side of it, choosing to remain standing and fold his arms as if this were some sort of interrogation. 

 

“I keep dreaming about a man. Sometimes he’s there and sometimes it just feels like he’s watching or sometimes I can hear his voice…” 

 

“Do you think you’ve been cursed?” Leo asks. “Frequent nightmares can be a symptom of several simple curses…” He reaches up and rubs his chin thoughtfully, and Niles tries not to outright laugh.

 

It’s sure something of a curse. Every night he dreams of this man taking him by the hand and leading him to beautiful visions. He dreams of him leaning close to whisper praise and kiss the shell of his ear. He dreams of his fingertips dragging down Niles’s face in such detail that he swears he can feel them catching on the stubble before he tilts his chin up to catch his lips in a kiss.  _ Terrible _ nightmares, it seems. "They're not bad dreams," he says instead. "But they feel real. Sometimes I don't even know if the dream is real or this is." 

 

“I see. Do you know who it is you’re dreaming of? That may give me a clue as to how I can help you fix it. Or, I suppose, at least help you find the cause.” 

 

Does he know who it is? Does he ever. "He says he's the star god," Niles mumbles. "He thinks he's something special." Well, he is. Niles has seen it in action. He's seen him wave his hand and turn day into night. He wears a crown around his head made of stars and light woven together, and his eyes have galaxies floating inside of them instead of color at all.

 

“Odin.” Leo shifts to walk away from the table. He approaches the bookshelf behind Niles. Niles, on the other hand, whips around in his chair to watch him. 

 

“How did you--?” 

 

“The star god. That’s his name. We do have one of those, you know.” Leo plucks a book from the shelf, and then another. When he brings them back he sets one down… and flips through pages in the first. “His name is Odin. Although Nohrian religion favored the Dusk Dragon, other gods and goddesses date back before that. A goddess of chaos and order, a goddess of life and nurturing, a god of growth and agriculture, and a god of the stars. Those were the four most popular… and there were others scattered about them. Odin was the god of the stars. Here.” 

 

Leo lays the book open in front of Niles. It’s all written in that fancy, old Nohrian that Niles can’t read. Leo struggles to translate it. It took him years to properly translate his own tome, and there are still passages he is working out. There are several pictures, though. One is an image of a man. He does  _ not _ look like the Odin in his dreams. This one is an older man. He does share some similarities, though. The drawing depicts a circle of stars around his head like a crown, and he’s standing on a cloud. He has a very distinct…  _ smile.  _ How an image could capture it so accurately is alarming. 

 

A few passages away there is another drawing, this one of an eye. Again there are stars drawn into it. Niles looks from the book up at Leo. “What does he do?” 

 

"He creates the stars," Leo answers. "I'm told he crafts each one of them individually and gives them each a name worthy of their beauty. His constellations are his masterpieces, and his very favorite stars are kept there, with one exception." 

 

“The evening star?” Niles asks, brow raised. Leo stops talking, only the nod his head. 

 

“The evening star is said to be his favorite star in all the world. That’s why it shines the earliest.” 

 

“It’s his daughter,” Niles mumbles. 

 

“What?” Leo asks. He resumes leaning on the table and watching Niles. There’s a moment or two of silence before he waves his hand. “Nevermind. You’re having dreams about the god of the stars. Did you do something to anger him, or catch his attention? When did it start?” 

 

When did this start? Ages ago. Nearly two years. It was shortly after Xander returned from his journey of self-discovery or what have you with a fiance on his arm and more love in his eyes than Niles could tolerate. Not all that long later they were married and had their son, Siegbert. Only a short while after that Leo and his wife had their son, and Niles felt alarmingly  _ alone. _

 

“I made a wish on a star,” Niles says. He remembers that. It was never about jealousy, of course. There was just something about how the king had a little family. Then Leo. Leo’s family was more of an immediate pressure on Niles. He looked so happy with his little boy, humming and pacing his bedroom with his lips happily pressed to kiss Forrest’s forehead. If he wasn’t giving endless love to his baby he was eagerly sharing that affection with his wife, too… and it was very sweet. Niles wanted that too. Happiness.

 

It’s embarrassing. Leo gave him a life he never expected to have. He has no business asking for more than that. Even when he made the wish, he knew that. He didn’t ask to fall in love or to find a family. He just wanted to  _ dream  _ about it. Just a little dream that he could enjoy where someone wanted to win his heart and sweep him off his feet. No one would ever know about it so he wouldn't have to feel guilty for wishing for it. 

 

“That isn’t very specific.” Leo starts turning pages through the second book. He turns it around and there’s an image of a shooting star. “Odin rules over the stars. The stories treat them as if they’re human. They give them pronouns and names and personalities. There is a hierarchy of wishing on a star. A star can only grant a wish when it is given special authority from Odin himself, though it will always listen to your wishes and relay them. This book acts as if it’s the star’s own choice if it wants to grant it. In any case, if your wish caught his attention, perhaps Odin came to investigate it. Or… perhaps you’ve just had a few silly dreams.” 

 

It’s way more than a few dreams. They’re uncanny. Sweet dreams where he feels like he’s being taken on a romantic adventure, softer dreams where he can lay down and sleep in Odin’s embrace, even dreams where they just talk about the weather or their days. 

 

“It’s probably just weird dreams,” Niles says. He doesn’t want to bother explaining any of this to Leo. It’s not like it’s hurting anyone. He’s tired today because he couldn’t sleep--because he couldn’t dream. He never had dreams before Odin showed up. The night before last he told him he wouldn’t be there the following night. Niles didn’t think it would bother him as much as he did. He’s never  _ actually _ shared a bed with Odin, he’s not  _ real, _ but somehow still his bed felt empty and lonely. 

 

Leo fixes him with a smile that Niles can't quite decipher. "I'm sure you're right," he says.

 

…

 

Odin told him that he wouldn’t be there last night, but tonight is a different story. The whole day passed by in such an exhausting blur that Niles barely knows which way is up anymore. He doesn’t even care if he dreams or not, he just wants to close his eye and not wake up until the headache in the center of his forehead is gone. 

 

Yet, wonderfully, he does dream. He finds himself walking along a dirt path. At first, all he really notices is the dirt and the shape of his own boots while he walks. Then he notices grass sprouting along its edges and flowers beyond that, and when he finally looks up there's an entire meadow around him. This place looks familiar. He thinks he's been here before. There's a grove of trees to the south-west of Windmire that opens up into a meadow like this one. With the same forked path that he's walking now. At the fork, he doesn't hesitate at all, but he instinctively stays left. The path empties out into a moonlit clearing with a pond. The wind picks up and with it, fireflies breeze past Niles. 

 

There are flowers blooming in bunches scattered along the edge of the pond. They’re green stems with white, bell-shaped blossoms that bend the stem with their weight and hang towards the ground. They’re almost glowing under the light of the moon and stars. 

 

Speaking of the stars, a small cyclone of shimmering, pale moondust kicks up, and when it clears Odin is there standing in its place. He’s dressed less regal than Niles usually sees him. His clothes are usually long capes and fancy, princely outfits. Today he’s wearing silver-white slacks tucked into boots. His shirt is white but shimmers like it was woven with pearls. The sleeves are billowy but gather at his wrists. The vest he wears over that seems to be made with a slice of the night sky. There are twinkling stars and galaxies there within it. 

 

A vest made out of galaxies would seem casual to someone as  _ extra _ as Odin. Casual or not, there are many things the same as ever about him. The way he carries himself with his chest puffed out and his chin held high are achingly familiar. His freckles are a galaxy all their own, and his stellar crown twinkles. It’s like he’s not even wearing it, but that stars just hang near his head all on their own. Maybe they do. 

 

"You didn't sleep last night," Odin says as Niles approaches. It's a dream, yes, but Niles feels like he has complete control over himself. It isn't the sort of dream where he just watches like it's a play. This is himself, and he chooses to reach out and take Odin's hands when he holds them out. "A mistake you won't make twice in a row--though I can't help but feel as if this were my fault." 

 

The moment their hands touch Niles’s clothes burn away and leave behind something else. Lighter boots, a soft shade of brown. Dark grey tights tucked into them, and a dark blue shirt. The sleeves are long and slightly baggy, but the collar of the shirt folds down and dips into a deep V that ends in the center of his chest. There, like a decoration, a silver star-shaped brooch is settled at the very bottom of the V. Most impressive is the sash tied like a belt at his waist. From where it’s knotted it hangs down all the way to his knees. It’s made of the same heavenly stuff that Odin’s vest is. It’s like Niles is literally wearing pieces of the stars. 

 

He looks down at himself, but when he’s through he looks back up at Odin and smirks. “Was I underdressed for our date?” He asks. He curls his fingers around Odin’s hands and he smiles when Odin rubs his thumbs along his wrists. 

 

Odin flashes him a brilliant grin, but he doesn't answer the question. Instead, he pulls Niles back towards the little lake until he takes a few steps into it. Niles isn't quite sure what's going on until they're in the center of the lake, standing on it. The water only covers the first inch of Niles's boots, but he's got an inkling that if he weren't holding hands with a god he would just fall right in. "Guess this means you just wanted to show off." 

 

“This is hardly showing off,” Odin pouts. It’s so, stupidly cute. It makes a fondness grow in Niles, a smile pull at his lips. He can’t  _ help it! _ That's the infuriating thing about Odin and these dreams. Niles is always on his guard, but here it's not real. Here he can let those walls down because no one can hurt him. Here he's allowed to be in love with a god because he certainly encourages it. Especially when he leans down just so he can peck Niles's cheek quickly. "Will you dance with me?" 

 

“Dance,” Niles repeats. He clicks his tongue and hums and acts like it’s the hardest decision he’s ever made, but he already knows his answer is yes. “There’s no music, luv.” 

 

He blinks when he feels the weight of Odin's forehead against his. It's such a grounding, reassuring feeling. Niles is standing on the water wearing clothes made of stardust, but he feels like everything is normal and safe. He watches Odin close his star-filled eyes, and so he closes his as well. 

 

_ Crickets.  _ He can hear the crickets first. After that it’s the sound of the lake around them, rippling and lapping against its shore. Wind whistling through blades of grass, that’s the next thing he hears, but it isn’t just nature. There are sounds mixed in that Niles can’t quite associate with a meadow. Gentle, twinkling bells catch his attention here or there. A soft piano seems to play occasional, legato verses. 

 

When he opens his eye there are constellations hanging in the air around them. Like they’ve been ripped right from the sky, they’re turning in a slow, mesmerizing circle around them. Fireflies flicker in and out where the stars don’t. Odin kisses Niles’s temple and catches him off guard. This is  _ beautiful.  _ It's beyond anything he was capable of dreaming, really. Odin pulls him into the first few steps of a dance. Every step they take the lake beneath them is painted like they're dancing on the heavens themselves. Where Niles's boots gently splash into the surface of the water reds, purples, pinks, and blues swirl together to dye it like the night sky. When Odin steps forward it's sprinkled with shimmering white stars. 

 

Niles finds his grip on reality getting further and further away, but he curls his fingers around Odin’s arm. He brushes his thumb along the silky fabric. “Where do you go on the nights you’re not here?” He asks. 

 

“I don’t go anywhere,” Odin answers. “I’m everywhere. But I don’t always have enough power to manifest everywhere that I like. If I’m not here, it’s because my powers were needed elsewhere. To grant a wish, or to create a new star, or to rearrange the heavens…” 

 

Niles nods his head, but he only halfway understands it. If he can be everywhere, why can’t he do both? It sounds selfish to ask, though, and so he doesn’t bother with it. He just tries to enjoy their dance. It lasts a few minutes longer, with Odin’s hand settled on Niles’s hip in a way just  _ perfect _ , really, before he moves that hand up to hold his face. 

 

Odin’s fingertips are smooth. There’s no callous, no scars. He slips his hand past Niles’s cheek and he leans closer… Niles closes his eye and leans just slightly forward to be kissed. He’s not kissed, though. Odin simply whispers “Is this enough?” 

 

Niles opens his eye hesitantly. He might rather have been kissed. “Pardon?” 

 

“You wished for a dream of what it would be like to be loved, but is a dream really enough?” Odin dips his head just slightly to one side. His eyes are harder to read than they’ve ever been, clouded with red and purple and pupils like voids within the stars.

 

These dreams are what he asked for. They’re what he wanted. Niles wished to be loved in these dreams. Sure, he wakes up in the morning and nothing is real, but that was the nature of what he asked for. “There’s no room to complain.” 

 

Odin pouts again, but only for a second. Then he lifts his fingertips to brush some of Niles’s bangs aside. “Why do you feel like you’re unworthy of wishing for something real? Why are you limited to a dream?”  

 

Niles can think of a few reasons why, but he doesn't know how to voice them. Even if he did he's sure all he would get is an argument in exchange. Niles would rather just shrug… and so he does. Odin finally leans down to kiss him. Niles's hand slips up onto his shoulder to pull him down closer. Odin stays, and while he's there he smiles earnestly against Niles's lips. "I love you, my stargazer. This love can be real if you want it. You wished for love, and be it in your dreams or in your reality, it's yours. You'll have my devotion for the rest of my life."

 

How long is the rest of Odin’s life? He’s ageless. He’s a god. Niles picks up Odin’s hand and brings it to his lips to kiss. “If this is an invitation to be spirited away, I think I’ll have to decline. I have duties in the real world that I’m not done tending to.” 

 

“Nothing of the sort,” Odin mumbles. He twists his hand so he can brush his thumb over Niles’s lower lip. “If you want me, I’ll be yours. In your world. You asked me for dreams, but I can give you so much more than that. And I want to! I am a legend! My power isn’t hindered by reality!” 

 

Niles drums his fingertips along Odin’s arm. Their dance resumes, but it’s turned into more of a sway. “So you’re saying that I can have you. The real you, outside of a dream?” It sounds too good to be true. Niles’s heart is slamming against his chest, but he’s afraid to let himself believe it. After all, this is a dream. A dream would say anything to make him happy. 

 

“In this meadow. In this clearing.” Odin promises. “I want to show you that I’m real. I’m more than a dream. Won’t you meet me here? Come find me, tomorrow night. I have something for you.” 

 

“Odin?” Niles asks, anxiously. “Odin, wait, I only have half an idea where we even are, don’t go yet. Odin!” He tries to curl his fingers into Odin’s starry sleeves tighter, but they seem to vanish right before his eye. He’s gone. The dream ends. Niles wakes up.

 

…

 

He started looking for that path as soon as he was dismissed for the day. He told Leo a little bit more about his dreams, but only because Leo noticed he looked well rested. He didn’t tell him that he was potentially going to meet a god that night. 

 

Maybe because he's been worried all day that it isn't true. Sure Niles has been having dreams about Odin. They're great dreams. They're romantic and sweet and even now and then they bicker… but they're not real. That Odin is the name of a real god could be a coincidence. It could all be something Niles's subconscious  _ made up. _

 

He thinks maybe his greatest fear is going to this clearing and finding he’s still all alone.

 

He thinks he knows where he's going at first, but then he's skeptical. Without the raw instinct of dreaming to guide him, he's just wandering through the woods. Then, thankfully, he finds the fork in the path. The one from the dream. He takes the left path, and he comes to the meadow clearing. There's the lake. It's just a still lake, now. There aren't magical ripples or stars painted on it. The grass is green but calm. The wind isn't whistling through it. There aren't any bugs, there aren't any noises at all. It feels like this place is void of  _ everything. _

 

“Odin?” He calls, softly. Weakly, because in his chest there’s a weight that says he won’t reply. He knows that he won’t reply. Odin is just a dream and no matter how vivid, it isn’t real. Niles has never really been held like that, kissed like that. The closest thing to love he’s ever had is his friendship with Leo… and he was selfish to come here and hope for more. 

 

Niles wanders to the edge of the lake. There are flowers blooming around it. At least that part of his dream was a reality. He knows it’s stupid, but he reaches out with the toe of his boot and experimentally tests his weight. His foot just dips into the water. Duh. People in real life don’t walk on water. That’s the definition of dreaming. 

 

He glances up at the sky. The stars are starting to come out, twinkling into existence. The Evening Star is there, already bright as always. Odin calls her by the name Ophelia. Is that really her name? Is she really more than a speck of light? Probably not. 

 

“I wish he was here,” Niles mumbles to her anyway. Like she has any say in it. She’s not even a she--Niles just supplied that with his subconscious. He probably heard the name in a play or a book or even in passing and just… liked it. He does like it. It’s a nice enough name. 

 

He waits. There’s no point in it, not really. This meadow is just a meadow. The only chance he has of seeing Odin again is if he falls asleep in it. But he’s not tired, it’s too early for that. He’s just  _ lonely.  _ Once he hears the leaves crunch in the distance, and he thinks maybe his heart leaps into his throat. But it’s just a rabbit passing by, and he’s ashamed of himself for getting his hopes that high. 

 

The second time he hears a noise he doesn’t turn his head for it, but then he feels a weight settle on his shoulder and jumps out of his skin like a spooked cat. He jerks his shoulder away and turns to confront his would-be attacker, but it’s just… 

 

Odin. In all his splendor, with his constellation crown and his starlight clothes, but the longer Niles stares at him the more ordinary he looks. His clothes become more casual, shirt tucked in and sleeves rolled up. His crown disappears, he almost even seems to lose that ethereal glow about him… but his eyes are still pools of stars, and his smile still keeps Niles planted in place.    
“O-Odin. You’re--What?” 

 

He looks real. More real than he’s  _ ever _ looked. Dressed like no more than a casual Nohrian gentleman, he looks deceptively average. Niles sucks in a breath. “I’m dreaming.” He fell asleep in the grass. That’s sure to be the answer. This isn’t real, it can’t be real. He can’t let his hopes get this high. 

 

Odin slips both of his hands up. One of them combs gently through Niles's hair. Odin told him his hair is like starlight. Niles doesn't know that it's true, but if a god of the stars thinks so he likes to think it's a compliment. His other hand holds his face, and he brushes his thumb just under Niles's eyelid. 

 

He should be more protective, he only has one good eye, but he's not afraid. If this is a dream it's harmless and if it's real… well, it feels real. Niles has been held gently in dreams but he's never been able to feel the pad of Odin's thumb so vividly. He reaches up and tangles his fingers into the fabric of his sleeves, and he can feel the soft fabric catch on his fingertips. 

 

“This isn’t a dream,” Odin says. “Though I may be awe-inspiring and unbelievable… for once I implore you to believe. This is real. And I’ve brought a gift for you!” 

 

Niles swings his arms forward and hugs Odin around his chest. Odin hesitates in what he was saying, but Niles is hardly listening. He’s just… real. He can feel his skin and breathe in the way he smells and he’s  _ real. _ “I don’t want a gift.” 

 

“I really think you’ll want this one,” Odin whispers in a low voice. “Will you at least give me a chance to sell you on it?” 

 

Niles snorts. He could say no, but in his experience, Odin rarely accepts no for an answer. "I'm listening." 

 

“I was hoping you would marry me.” 

 

Huh. Niles takes a whole step back, but he keeps a firm grip on Odin’s hand. Just, you know, in case he tries to vanish. “You’re like a god.” 

 

“I am a god,” Odin corrects. “Older than the earth as you know it! But I’m still capable of loving, be that as it may. Humans make up their own rules about love and how it works, and marriage is one of their forever words. I’ve never loved a human dearly as I love you, but I think you could be my forever.” 

 

Forever is a very long time. Even longer for Odin, an ageless god who will outlive humanity. Niles certainly won’t. He almost opens his mouth to say it, but really why bother? He doesn’t want to. He wants a happily ever after. That was what he wished for, even if he said he would be willing to accept it as a dream. He must look like he’s lost all will to protest, too, because Odin’s smile grows brighter and he squeezes Niles’s hand. “I’ll take the most devout care of you! You’ll be happy. Here, just as you are. Human and able to finish the duties you hold dear. And when you’re through and you’ve had your fill of this life, you can take up a second one, with me.” 

 

Well, being promised immortality isn’t really what Niles expected today. “You won’t change your mind?” 

 

"I won't ever change my mind," Odin promises. "In fact, I have a gift--as I said!--to prove it. Here." He takes Niles's hand in his and rubs his thumb twice along his third finger. The third time a nearly blinding light binds itself around it, and when Niles blinks away the speckles in front of his eyes all that's left is a shimmery, white ring. "This is made with a piece of me," Odin whispers. "The same stardust that composes who I am. I won't always be able to stay here, physically, but you'll always have a piece of me with you." 

 

A ring made out of the body of a god. “You’re sure this isn’t a dream?” 

 

“I’ll pinch you if you like!” Odin grins. Niles snorts and shakes his head. 

 

He pulls Odin forward by his arm and, happily, their lips come together. He’s kissed him in his dreams a million times. This time he can feel every crease of his lips, he can taste his tongue and he can feel his breath. This is a  _ real _ kiss. “You were right,” he mutters between slow, eager kisses. “I do want this.” 

 

Odin laughs breathily. The ground under their feet nearly glows. The stars shine a little brighter. The wind picks up, the crickets come back. 

 

This is a dream come true. 

 

_ Once upon a time _

_ Once upon a night _

_ Once upon a wish _

_ Once upon a dream _


End file.
